AUSTIN — The quarterback-turned-wide receiver spent most of the 2017 campaign trapped in limbo, his weekly fate tied to the health of the only two scholarship signal-callers on the Texas roster.

It was not the junior season Jerrod Heard had envisioned.

His strange year had as much to do with bad luck as unfortunate roster construction. When first-year coach Tom Herman couldn’t add a graduate transfer to the mix, Heard was left as the team’s emergency option behind sophomore Shane Buechele and true freshman Sam Ehlinger. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but as long as both avoided serious injury, the wideout would only have to worry about running routes and handling a few wildcat calls here and there.

But, Buechele and Ehlinger swapped injuries like they were playing catch, leaving Herman and offensive coordinator Tim Beck little choice but to relegate Heard to the sidelines as the backup quarterback. It was simply too risky to play him at receiver with either Buechele or Ehlinger injured.

Heard’s receiving numbers (20 receptions, 156 yards, one touchdown) fell off as a result, but he never complained, sulked or checked out.

“Jerrod has such good character, he does whatever you need him to do,” teammate Dorian Leonard said. “So if you need him to go back to quarterback, he’ll learn the plays, he’ll make an adjustment. He doesn’t complain at all. So kudos to him for being that guy that we can depend on, even if he’s not on the field as much he’s still giving us confidence on the sideline.”

Heard won’t have to worry about hopscotching between positions as a senior. Buechele and Ehlinger are both back and healthy, and UT rounded out the room with four-star freshmen Cameron Rising and Casey Thompson.

Finally, the electric talent who as a redshirt freshman quarterback set UT’s single-game record with 527 total yards can concentrate on developing and growing as a wideout. Herman named Heard the unquestioned leader of a group in need of a bounce-back season after an uneven 2017, and could emerge as an important offensive piece out of the slot.

“Throughout the process, we’re developing,” Heard said. “I know that receiver corps, we’re going at it in the film room and on the field. We’re just developing and becoming the best receiver. From on there, we adapt to that finishing mindset that, past all of the way through the fourth quarter, we’re just going to keep fighting. Those are the things that we’re going to take on for this 2018 season.”

Stormy conditions could affect spring game: The forecast for Saturday could put a damper on Saturday’s Orange-White spring scrimmage. According to local weather reports, there is an 80 percent chance of rain with the possibility of “severe” thunderstorms appearing in the area. The game is set to kickoff at 6:30 p.m.

The team scrimmage counts as UT’s 15th and final spring practice, so school officials have the option of moving the game around if the weather is going to interfere with an experience designed to be more fan-oriented than anything.

“We are aware of the weather situation,” Herman said. “I would say everything is on the table, from going in the bubble to moving it to Sunday to moving it up on Saturday to playing it as it’s scheduled. It’s all still on the table. We don’t have to make a decision just yet.”